TEXT: MICHAELA NESVAROVA | PHOTO: GIJS VAN OUWERKERK >
Ok, so how about recyclable materials? That is surely the way to go. Again, not as simple as you might think. Roland ten Klooster explains: ‘We are constantly discovering problems with recycling of many materials, such as cardboard. Cardboard contains mineral oils coming from recycled paper that can get into the product and can be carcinogenic. People say we have to recycle, but food safety is also tremendously important. Almost every week I read about chemicals that have been proven to be unsafe and are used in packaging.’
Consumer choices Once a company decides what to use to make the package, more issues await. How should the customer open the package and get to the product? ‘It’s not just about having the strength to open the package. The convenience of a product depends on the package’s shape, its flexibility, size, material etc. Actually, we have found fifty different aspects that you need to consider to determine how convenient the packaging is’, says Ten Klooster. 'This is important, we need better openings, because our society is aging.’ Intuitive packaging, which is easy to open, is surely one of the reasons why customers might pick a certain product. However, it definitely isn’t the only one. What makes a consumer choose a specific product in a shop? As Roland ten Klooster describes, the packaging design plays a major role in this decision: ‘Just by looking at the packages for less than two seconds,
people decide which one of two similar products is better tasting. Details have a huge influence – it’s about colors, used fonts, shapes. For example, during our tests people had to choose which pack of cookies - with the identical picture of cookies on the pack contained a better tasting product. They chose one just because of the background color.’
The zero moment of truth ‘Another issue is: How far can you go before losing the brand? You can’t always make large changes to the packaging design, otherwise people won’t recognize your product anymore’, continues Ten Klooster. ‘Marketing calls the packaging “the first moment of truth”. The second moment of truth comes when you open the package. But research shows that you should also create a “zero moment of truth”, build a story around your brand, explain where your products come from and so on.’ Since packaging has such large impact on customers’ choices, can it be used to encourage people to buy healthier products? ‘Research shows that it is easy for people to choose what tastes best, but it is very confusing for their brain to choose the healthy version’, answers Ten Klooster. ‘So to get people buy the healthy stuff, you need to say “This is very tasty”, not “This is healthy”. Nevertheless, our opinions change all the time. You can never say you understand how to design, because in five years everything will be different. Your current design will be outdated.' |
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